1. Field of the Invention
The field of art to which this invention pertains is heat exchange utilizing an intermediate fluent material for receiving and discharging heat based on a condensing and evaporating system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well known in this art to bury such things as copper tubing in an attempt to utilize the constant temperature of the earth as a source of heat to reduce heating costs for heating building structures. This same system has also been used to provide a heat sink for aiding in the airconditioning or cooling of building structures. In such systems, a first heat transfer fluid is pumped through the copper coils beneath the surface of the earth to absorb or transmit heat to or from the earth. The problems with such systems entail using large amounts of piping to provide sufficient surface area to make such system even approach practicability. Furthermore, extensive installation procedures are required where massive amounts of ground must be broken in order to install amounts of piping which would make such systems practical.
Similarly, while it has been proposed to utilize a heat pipe system to provide heating and cooling to residential buildings and other similar structures, little actual installation of these systems has been evidenced. For example, the use of heat pipes in conjunction with furnace, hot water and fireplace systems has been suggested (Heat Pipe Theory and Practice, by S. W. Chi, page 219); U.S. Pat. No. 4,042,012 discloses a heat pump-heat pipe system utilizing the earth as the heat source and heat sink with heat pipes buried in a hole and surrounded by water-soaked absorbant polymer particles; U.S. Pat. No. 2,749,724 utilizes a heat pump and coil arrangement to take advantage of the earth's temperature constant to heat a residential dwelling; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,563,304 discloses a heat exchange system for providing refrigeration to a building structure where part of the heat exchange system may be buried in the ground.
Accordingly, while many systems have been proposed, few systems have been actually installed because of the intricacies of the systems, their large size, and the intricate installation procedures required which include digging up and moving large amounts of soil. Because of such problems, the expense involved in installing such systems is excessive. The present invention solves these problems by providing a relatively simple, inexpensive heat pipe bag system providing an efficient method of utilizing the relatively constant temperature of the earth in a heat exchange system which is efficient, relatively simple in structure, and relatively easy to install thereby making widespread use of the system economically feasible.